I have a way of synthesizing. That's what I would encourage any young person to do: take in the ideas, the conflicts, and the world. Watch and listen and live before you go public.

I'm coming from the notion that acting is an art. It is not a business. It is about building characters, not about selling personalities.

I don't have any artifacts of my profession in my house; the Oscar is in storage.

I am constantly asked, 'What's the difference between acting in the theater and acting in film?' The only answer I can give is the space - you adapt to the space. But acting is acting.

I've discovered over the years that being subject to both the adoration and the vilification actually makes me more disciplined. It makes me understand that it's the idea of writing a great book that propels me now, whereas it used to be the idea of success.

A lot of America's success is because we're an open society and haven't brought dogma or religious influence into the American political process.

I was very clear that I wanted to keep 'Thor' out of the rest of the Marvel universe for no less than the first six issues. And the success of the book, I think, speaks well to that decision.

The very success of medicine in a material way may now threaten the soul of medicine.